Drilling Performance Enhancement via

Managed Pressure Drilling

Secure MPD Technology

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 MPD OVERVIEW

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 What is MPD?

MPD DEFINED
• IADC Definition:

“MPD is an adaptive drilling process used to precisely control the

annular pressure profile throughout the wellbore.

The objectives are to ascertain the downhole pressure environment

limits and to manage the annular pressure profile accordingly.”

It is the intention of MPD to avoid continuous influx of formation

fluids to surface. Any influx incidental to the operation will be
safely contained using an appropriate process”.
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 Conventional Well Design

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 Actual Mud Weight Lower than Planned
Predicted pore pressure never confirmed:
Libya: predicted 1.61 sg; mud weight 1.30 sg; no influx
Venezuela: predicted up to 14 ppg; mud weight 9.5 ppg; no influx
US (several): predicted up to 18 ppg; mud weight lower than any offset well;
successful reaching TD and saving liner and NPT

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 MPD Versus Conventional

Conventional Drilling:

BHP = MW + ECD
Only adjustment available with mud in the hole = pumps
on, pumps off and pump speed.

MPD:

BHP = MW + ECD + Backpressure

Effective BHP can be changed significantly with fewer
interruptions to drilling ahead.

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 Typical Secure MPD Rig-up

1 – Rotating Control Device

2 – Compact Drilling Choke Manifold
3 – Remote Control and Display

Pres =
MW + Friction + SBP

Flows and pressures

monitored at all times

System ready for

action if needed –
Auto or Manual

Control pressure
if desired
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 No Compromise on Rig Safety

All rig safety equipment

remains unchanged

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 Required Equipment

Manifold with
Intelligent
control system
Rotating
Control
Driller’s Panel Device

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 System Benefits

Improves Safety and Well Control through:

• Early detection of influxes / losses
• Automatic warning and control features

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 System Benefits - continued

Improves Drilling Efficiency through:

• Accurately managed mud program
– Increased rates of penetration
– Reduced ECD
– Reduced Mud Weight
– Reduced formation damage
– Reduced incidences of stuck pipe
• Early identification of wellbore ballooning

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 System Benefits - continued

Reduced costs through:

• Decreasing NPT associated with:
– Controlling kicks and circulation issues
– Dealing with losses
– Fishing events
– Time spent on flow checks to differentiate
between ballooning or formation influx
• Improved drilling efficiencies
• Reduced number of casing strings

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 Applications

• Exploratory wells
• High pressure/high temperature (HPHT) wells
• Wells in depleted fields, especially ones using pressure
maintenance programs (water, steam, CO2, injection)
• Wells with narrow mud weight windows
• Wells with rapid‐change pore pressure regimes
• Areas with high incidence of kicks
• Areas with high pore pressure/fracture gradient uncertainties
• ERD Wells

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 Secure Drilling Interface

Flow In = Red
Flow Out = SPP =
Blue Blue
BHP =
Green

MW In = Red
MW Out =
Blue

High Limit =
Red

SBP =
White Choke Position =
Green

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 Accuracy Of System

Tool Joints

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 Influx Control

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 APC Connection

BHP Setpoint
= 5567 psi

SBP is
increased to
replace lost
ECD
BHP remains
Relatively
Constant

Flow Rate is Slowly

Ramped Down, Connection
Made, Then Ramped Back
Up

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 Pore Pressure Determination –
Cont.

BHP < Pore

Flow Out >
Pressure
Flow In

Pore
Pressure

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 Accurate Frac Gradient Determination

At 12:43 hrs: applied 95 psi to 
simulate 2.08 sg. Well holding, no 
losses.

At 12:52 hrs: increased SBP 
to 130 psi to simulate 2.085 
sg, negligible loss, well 
holding.

At 13:08 hrs: 
increased SBP to 
168 psi to simulate 
2.09 sg. Well 
leaking, 100‐120 
lpm losses.

Dynamic FIT – Confirm Integrity of Open Hole Before

Increasing Mud Weight

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18
 CASE HISTORY 1

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19
 Project Overview
• Type: Lateral ERD, 8 ½” Hole
• MD In: 11,061 ft (3,372 m)
• MD Out: 12,464 ft (3,800 m)
• Interbedded sands / shale Reservoir
• Shale stabilty > 11.8 ppg
• Sand fractures > 12.8 ppg
• High ECDs due to long horiz section
• MPD to maintain 12.0 to 12.2ppg

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 MPD Objectives

• Safely drill lateral ERD well where shale instability issues

were historically a major concern.
• Manage the potential risk of wellbore instability, hole
collapse and losses due to a very narrow margin between
collapse pressure and fracture gradient.
• Avoid destabilization of the shales (and annular packoffs)
through the significant reduction of pressure cycling
during connections and pressure surges.

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21
 Results

• Lateral section drilled with constant BHP during connections

• BHP and ECD were maintained within a very restricted range,
minimizing wellbore instability.
• Significantly reduced annulus pressure fluctuations through the
application of surface backpressure equivalent to the annular
frictional pressure losses when the mud pumps were shut
down.
• Accurate determination of fracture pressures in real time to
better define and manage the window available for drilling.
• MPD technology enabled the completion screens to be run
successfully without downtime.

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22
 Value To Client

• Wellbore instability issues eliminated and losses minimized

• Savings of over 13 days rig time when compared to the
average number of days on previous wells.
• First interbedded shale and sand interval in the field where
they were able to run screens all the way to bottom.
• The longest completed shale section in the field at 380 ft (116
m).
• MPD services enabled effortless completion of the well,
eliminating nonproductive time and reducing overall operating
costs.

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23
 CASE HISTORY 2

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24
 Project Overview

• Type: HPHT Exploration

• MD in: 15,587ft (4,757m)
• MD out: 19,459ft (5,931m)
• Estimated SBHT: 212 degC
• 18K PSI BHP
• Concerns with wellbore breathing
and well control.
• Provided Advanced Flow Detection
throughout the 12 ¼” and 8 ½”
sections

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 MPD Objectives

• Provide early warning of influxes and/or losses due to

unexpected changes in pore or frac pressure.
• Provide a more precise method to differentiate between
influx/losses and wellbore ballooning.
• Reduce nonproductive time (NPT) spent circulating out
gas bubbles caused by wellbore ballooning.
• Enhance overall operational safety by converting the
wellbore to a closed-loop system and gain control of
downhole events.

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26
 MPD Results

• The wellbore was converted from an open-to-atmosphere

to a closed-loop system, providing the operator with the
ability to control downhole events, improving operational
safety conditions.
• Improved trend monitoring enabled significant ballooning
events to be differentiated from losses, allowing
operations to continue.
• Using surface backpressure on connections reduced
connection gas from 34% to 2%, allowing drilling
operations to resume immediately upon finishing the
connection, minimizing NPT.
• Performed openhole Dynamic LOT to 19.1 ppg, a
reduction from the Casing Shoe LOT of 19.5 ppg
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27
 MPD Results (continued)

• At one point drilling gas increased from 2 to 20 percent

• The system enabled the operator to apply pressure to the
well, confirming new pore pressure in the formation.
• A safe increase in mud weight from 17.5 ppg to 18.60
ppg (2.1 SG to 2.2 SG) was established,
• This facilitated drilling operations to continue after just 48
hrs.

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28
 Pore Pressure Verification

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29
 Pore Pressure Verification – Bottoms up

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 Frac Pressure Verification

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 Value to Client

• Established pore pressure, displaced to correct mud weight and

performed an openhole FIT within 48 hrs in the 8 ½” section. This
would have taken a week by conventional methods.
• Minimized wellbore breathing - By applying Surface Backpressure to
replace ECD, background gas levels were kept below 5%. Circulating
out a 30% gas bubble would have take 6 – 8 hrs on each connection.
• HPHT procedures were optimized by stripping out of hole compared
to pumping out of hole and by not requiring dummy connections

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 CASE HISTORY 3

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33
 HPHT Deployment

• 12 1/4-, 8 1/2-and 5 5/8-in. hole sections from 3,796 to 5,514 m

• Rapid detection of five influxes (on bottom) while drilling the 12 1/4-
in. section;
• Minor gas influx safely controlled and circulated out of the well with
significantly lower NPT in comparison to conventional methods;
• Simulation of different mud weights by adding SBP on several
occasions, saving time and reducing the risk of fracturing;
• Accurate measurement of flow in and flow out, enabling the client to
identify a critical high-pressure zone;
• A successful bleed off, allowing the operator to continue drilling with
the same mud weight;
• Conversion of the wellbore from an open-atmosphere to a closed-
loop system, providing the operator with the ability to control
downhole events.
© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
 Case Study: Kick Detected #1

- Drilling ahead. Flow In (blue)

matches Flow Out (red)
-Fluctuations due to torquing
of the top drive.

- Driller decides to back ream.

- Flow out has shifted to the

right of Flow In – indicating an
influx swabbed in by back-
reaming

- Chokes closing in reaction

to the influx. Flow In trend
shifting to left accordingly

Note: Influx gained so far under 1 bbl

- After advising operator of the downhole influx, 30 minutes pass before

backpressure is applied. Kick detected after less than 1bbl influx downhole.
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 Case Study: Kick Detected #2

- Extremely small influx detected and circulated out in 15 hours.

- Conventional operations would have required 4-5 days to circulate out.
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 HPHT Deployment

Secure Drilling system

was Rigged Up and used
to Drill the
12 ¼”, 8 1/2” & 5 5/8”
sections

TD of 12 1/4" section

TD of 8 ½” section

WELL TD
60 Days Ahead of
Plan

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 Summary

• Recent Distinct projects (ERD, HPHT, Deepwater)

• Each complex and challenging in their own way
• Similar MPD kit installed on all these applications
• End result:

Drilling Performance Enhancement via MPD

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 More Productive Drilling

Thank You

© 2010 Weatherford. All rights reserved.